I hope Spring is going well for you! Last week we had a five day Landscape Workshop here in Tryon. It was terrific working with other artists as we immersed ourselves in painting the Foothills outdoors. It only rained one day, hence the two still lifes.
Here are the small paintings I produced. These 6x8 panels are the smallest size I've ever worked in! A gallery client commissioned nine small landscapes, so it was interesting to see what I might learn. The lessons seem to be:
-The composition has to be strong.
-There is not a lot of good that comes from adding unnecessary detail, so...
-The block-in has to be solid.
Of course, these principles are true pretty much all the time. The difference with working 'small' is that you can capture fleeting effects quickly if you resist details that probably won't 'read' anyway.
If you would like to paint together, there are still some openings for the Still Life Workshop June 20-24 (this class is open to serious teens too) or the Portrait Workshop July 25-29. You can see more info and email me here.
We've also just added a three-day Landscape Workshop in New Bern, NC September 8-10. Contact Chris at Art And Materials for more info.
I'll probably schedule an Autumn Landscape Workshop here in Tryon October 24-28 soon too.
